I have talked to other people who have had knee surgery and a girl who had plastic surgery who only had a mask put on them for surgery. Why do we have to be intubated? I am an opera singer and I have always been told to be VERY careful about this. Is there another alternative to intubation for the lapband or gastric sleeve?

Are you sure they only had a mask? Most people are intubated after they are out and the tube is removed before they come to, so they never really know.

Discuss your valid concerns with your doc. I know for my 8/11 surgery my throat was a little sore after, but for the 8/29 surgery I had no pain, nothing. An anesthesiologist can work with you so that you can have the surgery if you want, and minimize any danger to your vocal chords. If they can't allay your fears, don't proceed!

Just FYI I remember the mask they were putting on me as I went off to lala land, and I remember the mask as I came to post op in recovery. If you have major surgery and are "out", you are intubated. They have to do it, as far as I know. They paralyze you so you don't move while they are operating, and since you are paralyzed, the machine breathes for you. And trust me you don't want to be moving when they are "inside" you with a sharp instrument!

hi

you have to be intubated because the dr will use muscle relaxent so that your stomach doesnt contract wilst being operated on.

Lisa

I'm also a singer. I had no concerns before surgery concerning this and everything went well. I can't imagine there should be anything to worry about if you have qualified individuals taking care of you. I suppose it still comes down to the risk of doing it compared to the risks of not doing it. The best you can control is picking the right surgeon who surrounds him/herself with the best staff.

God Bless!

The surgery is so short that a lot of ppl say that they cant even tell they were intubated. Generally if youre intubated for a long time it causes you to have a sore throat but since the surgery is so short a lot of ppl say they didnt notice anything sore with their throat. I didnt notice anything but you have to be intubated bc of the anesthesia.

I had breast reduction surgery in 2003 and my throat was sore for about 2-3 weeks afterwards...and with the lap band surgery, I think my throat might have been sore for maybe a day...if that. And I could talk right after - well, okay, several hours after because that's how long it took for the anesthesia to wear off! :biggrin: But, I could talk, so nothing happened to my vocal chords...

I have talked to other people who have had knee surgery and a girl who had plastic surgery who only had a mask put on them for surgery. Why do we have to be intubated? I am an opera singer and I have always been told to be VERY careful about this. Is there another alternative to intubation for the lapband or gastric sleeve?

To answer your question... Intubation is required to maintain adequate control of your airway. This helps to protect you from aspiration as well. You need an airway in place because not only are you unconscious, you are also paralyzed- you couldn't breathe if you wanted to. There is another type of airway called a laryngeal mask airway (LMA) that covers your larynx like a mask. However, it is not appropriate for laproscopic procedures because of the pressure created by the insufflation of the abdominal cavity- it could be easily dislodged. I am unsure about spinal anesthesia. As another poster explained, intubation is done after you are unconscious and removed before you awaken. You can discuss options with the anesthesiologist. Make sure you tell your surgeon that you want to talk with them beforehand because in many cases, you don't see the anesthesiologist until the day of surgery. Sorry this is long, hope this helps.